Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed a hand on the desk, already enraged. "Danzo, do you know what you're saying right now?"
Danzo was angry as well. Though Sarutobi Hiruzen had not yet stepped down, his authority and power had already been gradually weakened, leaving him with no plans to keep tolerating it. However, he knew that openly arguing with Sarutobi Hiruzen offered him no advantage, so he could only say coldly, "Yuan Fei, I'm telling you, you're old! You can no longer make the most correct judgments. You'd better remember that!"
After Danzo finished speaking, he turned and left directly, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen behind. His face trembled slightly, and his breathing had already become rapid.
Danzo's words had stirred Sarutobi Hiruzen's true feelings. Yet even though Danzo had said such things to his face, he could not do anything to Danzo. It was all for the sake of the village.
But at the same time, a seed in his heart gradually began to grow.
Have I grown old? Am I really old? Can I no longer make the right judgments?
Sarutobi Hiruzen had tormented himself with this question countless times. Now Danzo had bluntly spoken it aloud, making Sarutobi Hiruzen feel even more exhausted.
"But... who can become the Fifth Hokage... Jiraiya?"
Danzo Shimura closed the door to Sarutobi Hiruzen's home. The anger on his face had already faded, and before he knew it, a faint sneer had appeared.
"Sarutobi, the position of Hokage is mine. Now, you can no longer compete with me!"
Danzo's visit to Sarutobi Hiruzen had not merely been to provoke him. He had wanted to anger Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his final remark about Sarutobi Hiruzen's age had also shaken his footing, making him begin to doubt himself.
The more flawless and shrewd a person was—especially someone